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THE ADDRESS 

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OF 

The State Committee 


OF 

REPUBLICANS, 


APPOINTED 


TO CORRESPOND WITH THE COMMITTEES OE 
THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF THE 


STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA, 


ON THE CONCERNS OF THE ELECTION OF 1£'^, 


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PRINTED BY WILLIAM DUANE. 


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1802. 














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TO THE 


REPUBLICANS 

OF 

PENNSYLVANIA, 


FRIENDS AND FELLOW CITIZENS ! 

BY the appointment of a respectable 
meeting of the republicans of the City and 
county of Philadelphia, it has become our 
duty, to call your attention to the important 
objects of the approaching general election. 
Besides making the annual choice for mem¬ 
bers of the general assembly, your suffrages, 
must be given on that occasion, to fill the 
high office of governor, and to return repre¬ 
sentatives to the legislature of the union. 
The rights and interests of the state, the pros¬ 
perity of the confederation, and, perhaps, the 
existence of a free government, depend on 
the successful issue of your exertions. The 
political vigilance and firmness of Pennsyl¬ 
vania, have, indeed, raised her to an emi¬ 
nence, on which she cannot remain without 
honor—from which she cannot descend with¬ 
out disgrace: And thither the eye of every 
American patriot is, at this period, directed, 
in anxious hope, that where the dawn of re¬ 
turning Republicanism first appeared, the 
splendor of its meridian will not be extin¬ 
guished, or eclipsed. 


( 4 ) 


If, fellow citizens, the accomplishment 
of every object, for which you have hitherto 
contended, can furnish a motive for perse¬ 
verance ; mark, we entreat you, the auspi¬ 
cious change, which a short lapse of three 
years has produced, in the course of public 
transactions, and in the condition of private 
life. It was obvious to every reflecting mind, 
during the memorable struggle for the elec¬ 
tion of the present venerable chief magistrate 
of Pennsylvania, that the affairs of America 
had attained a crisis, which involved the di¬ 
rect alternative, either that the power of the 
federal party must be arrested, or that our 
republican systems would be overthrown. 
By a progress at once insidious and daring, 
the principles and monuments of the revolu¬ 
tion had been exposed to derision ; the cha¬ 
racter and conduct of the revolutionary lead¬ 
ers had been reviled ; the theory of a repub¬ 
lican government was denounced as avision¬ 
ary and equivocal speculation; every plausi¬ 
ble expedient cad been tried to fetter and 
controu! the legislative authority, emanating 
immediately from the people ; and all the 
instruments oi monarchy, the influence of 
patronage, and the glitter of parade, were 
employed to strengthen and adorn the scep¬ 
tre of the executive. But every enterprise 
against the liberties of a nation must have 
the aid of a military force ; and a military 
force can only be procured, or maintained,by 
the aid of money. The lawless depredations 
committed on our commerce by the pirates 



( 5 ) 


and privateers of France, not only, therefore, 
gave rise to the equipment of a fleet, but, 
with a contemptuous disregard of the services 
of the militia, were, also, made a pretext to 
embody a numerous army, for which it was 
impossible to conceive any rational use, con¬ 
nected with the state of foreign hostilities: 
while the general indignation,justly excited by 
the insult offered to our ambassadors at Paris, 
and inflamed by every artifice that ingenuity 
could devise, insured a ready acquiescence, 
in a rapid andburthensome imposition of tax¬ 
es, to defray the expence of warlike prepara¬ 
tion. Nor wasanother, the most cruel and ef¬ 
fectual stratagem, to disorganize and subvert 
a free government, omitted in this career of 
federal ambition. The party animosities of 
the people were fomented. The creed of fe¬ 
deralism, with all its monarchcial tendencies, 
was proclaimed to be the only means of poli¬ 
tical salvation; and every citizen, who did 
4 not implicitly adopt it, was exposed to per- 
\ secution and proscription. His character, 
% his person, and his house, were alike doomed 
to insult and violence ; and the perpetration 
of the injury has been found a recommenda¬ 
tion to ministerial patronage and favor. The 
inflexible republican, arbitrarily excluded 
from a participation in the honors and emolu- 
ments of public office, was sometimes me* 

■■ naced with the ignominy of being “ delivered 
to an invading enemy and, at other times, 
unfeelingly told, that “he might expect to be 
ground to dust and ashes by his indignant conn - 



( 6 ) 


try men.” Tales of the grossest fabrication 
were circulated to render him the object of 
popular suspicion and hatred ; and even to 
snatch from his enjoyment, every solace of 
social and domestic life. Thus pursued by 
the zealots of party, and unprotected by the 
hand of power, the halls of justice seemed 
likewise to deny him a sanctuary ; for, every 
minister of justice was a federalist: The offi¬ 
cer who prosecuted, the judges who presided, 
the marshal who summoned the jury, and the 
jury who tried the cause, were all—all fede¬ 
ralists ! Nay, the law itself, assumed the 
form of a weapon made for the federalists 
alone to wield ; by whose magic, riots might 
be converted into rebellion ; flattery became 
the test of political truth ; and freedom of 
opinion was condemned as sedition. In short, 
at that afflicting period, which has been em¬ 
phatically styled “ The reign of terror ,” the 
patriotism and fortitude of the republican 
party, (comprising at least one half of the 
citizens of the United .States) were conspi¬ 
cuously displayed. No art could seduce, no 
danger could impel them, to a dereliction of 
their political principles; yet, looking sted- 
fustly to the constitutional power of the peo¬ 
ple for relief, they neither vauntingly threat¬ 
ened the havoc of a civil war, nor traitorously 
projected a dissolution of the union. 

From this painful review, hasten, fellow 
citizens, for consolation and triumph, to a 
contemplation of the scene that now lies be¬ 
fore you. The example given by Pennsvl- 


( 7 ) 


vania, in the general election of 1799, soon 
spread throughout the union. The latent 
spirit of Republicanism kindled into action ; 
and, with a sudden, but salutary, explosion, 
swept from the political atmosphere, the 
clouds and vapours, by which it was infected 
and obscured. The voice of the people, in 
a regular but decisive tone, transferred the 
powers of government from federal to repub¬ 
lican hands : And already have the public 
functionaries, faithful to their trust, revived 
the principles of the revolution, cast off the 
trappings of royalty, restored a constitutional 
equality of rights to the citizens, and estab¬ 
lished the impartial administration of justice. 
With an honorable zeal to maintain the na¬ 
tional independence, to discharge the public 
debt, and to protect the freedom of com¬ 
merce, you have seen them combine dispc* 
sitions the most conducive to peace, to order, 
and to economy. With a sacred regard for 
public opinion, and an honest sensibility to 
fame, they have manifested a disdain to ac¬ 
cumulate official patronage, as the means to 
purchase popularity ; or to employ a sedition 
act, as the instrument to suppress investiga*- 
tion. With a steady adherence to the re¬ 
publican cause, and an equitable desire to 
communicate to all its friends, a fair propor¬ 
tion of public favor, you may trace the asso¬ 
ciation of a liberal and conciliatory policy, 
in the long list of federalists, who still occupy 
stations of confidence and profit. Thus, under 
the auspices of a republican administration, 


C 8 ) 


and within the space of a few months, the 
reputation of the American government has 
been elevated in the view of foreign nations ; 
the spectres of war have been driven from 
our shores; the danger of a standing army 
has been averted ; the right of opinion, and 
the liberty of the press, have been unfettered; 
useless offices have been abolished ; and un¬ 
necessary taxes are discontinued. The 
streets of our cities are no longer scenes 
of tumult; our habitations have become 
places of safety; and our persons are again 
under the protection of the law. In such a 
situation, the republican can have no wish to 
gratify, except for the preservation of the 
happiness, which he has acquired ; and the 
federalist will have no evil to endure, except 
from the recollection of the power which he 
has lost. 

Nor, while we thus derive, from the 
extent and value of your past atchievements, 
a laudable incentive to future exertion, can 
you be indifferent, fellow citizens, to the 
daily occurrences, which admonish you of 
a subsisting danger. The menaces that re¬ 
verberate in the halls of Congress, the ca¬ 
lumnies that issue from the press, the sullen 
discontent of individuals, and the undisguis¬ 
ed hostility of numerous associations, give 
assurance of a wounded, but aspiring, spirit. 
No moderation in the exercise of official 
power, no overture to the restoration of so¬ 
cial harmony, no appeal to the equal dispen¬ 
sations of the constitution, has been effec- 


( 9 > 


tual to abate the rage of federal animosity, or 
to silence the arrogant pretension, to a mono¬ 
poly of public honors and emolument. Still 
intolerant, active, and intelligent, your poli¬ 
tical opponents move in every direction; 
and transform themselves into every shape; 
so that constant vigilance can alone enable 
you to discover and avoid their toils. In 
the effort to escape from the obloquy of their 
own misconduct, you have heard them, un- 
blushingiy, ascribe to the existing adminis¬ 
tration, an expensive compromise, under 
the sixth article of the British treaty, for the 
liquidation of private, antiquated, debts ; the 
relinquishment of an indemnity for the spo¬ 
liations committed on our commerce by the 
French; the irritation of the barbarians, on 
the coasts of the Mediterranean ; the impo¬ 
sition of duties on salt, brown sugar, coffee, 
and other commodities, in general consump¬ 
tion among the poor; and an augmentation 
of the salaries of the principal officers of 
State. So, in the attempt to conceal from 
public observation, the brilliant contrast 
between the present, and the past, transac¬ 
tions of the government, the motive of every 
measure, legislative, or executive, has been 
stigmatized, its nature has been perverted, 
and its operations impeded. The repeal of 
the Judiciary Act of the 13th of Febru ary* 
1801, has opened, above all, a copious 
source for declamation and delusion. The 
design of the system, which that act hi ad 
troduced, was to erect a judicial fortress* 


B 


C 10 ) 


within which the routed federalists might 
safely repose, and from which the triumph¬ 
ant republicans might be successfully an¬ 
noyed. The organization of the system, 
too, was marked with all that malevolence 
could dictate to provoke resentment, or folly 
could exhibit to excite disgust. The con¬ 
stitution was either violated, or eluded ; and 
the dignity of the chief magistracy, together 
with the ordinary maxims of personal deco¬ 
rum, lay prostrate ; w hile commissions were 
issued to transfer judges from one court to 
another, without their previous consent, or 
privity; while senators were appointed to 
fill supposititious vacancies injudicial offices; 
and while the tranquillity of the midnight 
hour tvas invaded, to rivet the last fetter 
upon a rival administration. It was never 
expected, that such conduct should pass 
w ithout animadversion, or that an encroach¬ 
ment like this, would meet a prompt and 
passive acquiescence. Even, however, if 
the dissolution of the new judiciary system 
had not been a natural ccnccmitant of the 
circumstances, that gave it birth ; and even, 
if those considerations of local advantage, 
in the administration of justice, which in¬ 
spired some republicans with a wish for its 
preservation, had been more generally dif¬ 
fused; yet, the fate which the system has 
experienced, must have been rendered in¬ 
evitable, by the very arts that w r ere employ¬ 
ed to avert it. The power of the legislature 
to repeal the act was peremptorily denied* 


( 11 ) 


A doctrine was maintained, which made, in 
this respect, the personal interests of the 
judges every thing, and the national interests 
of the people nothing. In a country, whose 
population is but in the germ; whose re¬ 
sources of agriculture, commerce, arts, and 
manufactures, are incalculable ; and whose 
intercourse with the distant regions of the 
world expands at every gale; it has been 
contended, in effect, that a legislative ar¬ 
rangement ofthe courtsofjustice, once made, 
is immutable; and can neither be modified 
to conform to encreasing exigencies; nor 
be amended to correct the errors, which ex- 
perience shall detect. In other words, the 
appointment of a judge, upon the tenure of 
good behaviour, lias been represented, in a 
wild, and boundless, latitude of interpreta¬ 
tion, as a constitutional stipulation, that, un¬ 
der every possible circumstance of public 
inconvenience, the office shall be perpetuated, 
that the judge may be paid. Combining, 
therefore, the result of those positions, with 
the authority exercised by the courts of law, 
to determine the validity of all acts of con¬ 
gress, and the federal claim of a common 
law jurisdiction in criminal cases, it is ob¬ 
vious, that something more interesting than 
the mere repeal of an obnoxious statute, was 
at stake; for, a repeal had, at last, become 
the indispensible medium, to vindicate and 
preserve the theory mid essence of our go¬ 
vernment. Permit, the whole doctrine 
of the federalists, in relation to the judi- 


( 12 ) 


cial authority, to prevail, and every trace 
of a republican compact vanishes from the 
constitutional code; the sovereignty of the 
na ion passes from he people, and the imme¬ 
diate representatives of the people; while 
the judges (though appointed by the presi¬ 
dent, and still, as we have repeatedly wit¬ 
nessed, v. i hin the scope of executive favor 
and bounty,) will, indeed, be the rulers of 
the land. 

Other topics cf federal misrepresenta¬ 
tion and clamor, present themselves in rapid 
succession. The discontinuance of the in¬ 
ternal taxes has been reprobated, not be¬ 
cause the revenue is wanted N at this tin e, 
but because it is possible, that a future 
emergency may require a pecuniary sup¬ 
ply;—not because the discontinuance af¬ 
fords no relief to the community, but 
because the fiscal economy of the admi- 
nistiaiion cannot safely embrace a repeal of 
more taxes, nor conveniently apply the re¬ 
peal to other taxes instead of these. The 
provision for the extinguishment of the pub¬ 
lic debt, has been called artful and insincere; 
yet, all ’he art consists in selecting the best 
means for he attainment of the object; and 
the only shade of insincerity (the power to 
re-loan) is, simply, a precaution to guard the 
public faith frem the effects of accidental dis¬ 
appointment. Every display of the attri¬ 
bute cf mercy has been censured, without 
information on the facts, without decency in 
the manner, and without humanity in the de- 


( 13 ) 


sign. The slow, but, we trust, certain pro¬ 
gress of the executive, to restore the repub¬ 
licans to that share in the public patronage, 
of which they have been so iong, and so un¬ 
justly, deprived, furnishes an everlasting 
theme for invective and defamation, to the 
presumptuous, the idle, and the desperate. 
The base and paltry practices of private 
scandal, have, likewise, been indulged, at the 
expence of truth, modesty, and feeling, when 
the hope of establishing official delinquency, 
or public error, has been abandoned. , in 
short, it has been evinced, in the course of 
the opposition o the present administration, 
that die sc e object of the federal party is the 
re-acquisition of power; and, we fear, that this 
object sanchses, m their opinion, every 
measure which can be devised to accomplish 
it: For, regardless of the consequences to 
the honor 01 the nation, or to the peace of 
the community, is it not the direct aim of 
every federal press, and of every federal 
orator, to degrade the government, to de¬ 
preciate the talents , and virtues of the rulers, 
and to scatter jealousy and discord among 
the people ? The system is, indeed, at once 
a system of seduction and alarm; but it will 
impose only on the weak, and can overawe 
none but the timid. 

These remembrances of past suffer- 
ings, of present enjoyments, and of sur¬ 
rounding dangers, have been presented to 
you, fellow citizens, not with a view to 
awaken in your breasts a spirit of retaliation^ 


( 14 ) 


but to confirm your zeal and constancy In 
maintaining’ the empire of republicanism. 
Even at this moment of your triumph and 
power, we know that, the republican princi¬ 
ple affords an undiminished security for the 
rights of your political opponents : and, as 
you have never coni ended for more than a 
constitutional equality of protection and pri¬ 
vilege, we are confident, that the federalists 
will find you, at all times, ready to embrace 
them as brethren, though you disdain at any 
time to accept them as masters. Eut in the 
glorious cause which you have espoused, 
let every man now exhibit an example of 
patriotism and firmness, that the republican 
party may shine forth, with intrinsic lustre, 
the genuine friends of order and good go¬ 
vernment ; the patrons of industry ; and the 
guardians of independence. Extinguish, 
we beseech you, the feuds that are occasion¬ 
ed by local prejudice, or a collision of per¬ 
sonal interests. Resist every sinister at¬ 
tempt to sow dissention among you ; to ge¬ 
nerate injurious suspicions of each other ; to 
substitute, in your political discussions, de¬ 
nunciation for argument, or intolerance for 
persuasion ; and to undermine the confidence 
of the people in the public agents, whom they 
have chosen. And, above all, let it be deep¬ 
ly impressed upon your minds, that a su¬ 
pineness, produced by a confidence in your 
own strength, may be as fatal, at the periods 
of election, as an actual indifference to the 
object of pursuit. 




C 15 ) 

We have addressed you, fellow citizens) 
upon the present occasion, rather as citizens 
of the union, than as inhabitants of Penn¬ 
sylvania; but, it will be recollected, that the 
politics of the confederation, and the politics 
of its individual members, have an influence, 
which is mutually attractive and assimilating'. 
A co-operation of the republican members 
(and we venture here to express a solicitude 
for its continuance) communicated that 
light to the union, which the union now re¬ 
flects back upon the several states. It is 
chiefly, however, by the care of the indivi¬ 
dual states, that the sacred flame of repub¬ 
licanism can be permanently preserved from 
diminution or decay; and the public morals, 
policy, and manners, should be assiduously 
moulded to a performance of the duty; 
since to enjoy, or retain, the glorious inhe¬ 
ritance of the revolution, posterity must 
emulate the valour and the virtue, which 
enabled their fathers to atehieve it. Among 
a free people, taught to know, and to esti¬ 
mate, their own rights, the elective fran¬ 
chise will be forever dear, and the represen¬ 
tative character forever honored. No age 
can pass away, without its heroes, and its 
statesmen ; and a long line of patriots shall 
succeed to Jefferson and M‘Kean, as they 
have done to Washington and F r anklin. 

It only remains, fellow citizens, to close 
the task which has been entrusted to us, by 
earnestly recommending to you a general 
attendance, and a cordial unanimity, on the 


/ 


( 16 ) 




day of election, A steady choice of tried 
and approved republicans, to fill the depart¬ 
ments of government, must effectually frus¬ 
trate the schemes of your enemies, and invi¬ 
gorate the confidence of your friends; but 
permit us, also, to hope, that your vote, on 
the re-election of the present governor, the 
honored and beloved M‘Kean, will serve as 
a conspicuous testimonial of public gratitude, 
for the virtue, wisdom, and independence, 
which he has uniformly displayed in the ser¬ 
vice of his country. And if for these important 
purposes, any further advice or assistance 
should be requisite, you may, at all times, 
rely upon the promptitude and fidelity of 

Your sincere friends, 

P. MUHLENBERG, 
RICH RD BA HE, 
SAMUEL MILES, 

A. J. DALLAS. 
WILLIAM JONES, 
MAT! HEW LAWLER, 
MICH \EL LEIB, 
THOMAS LEIPER. 


rhi!adclphia t Sept* 21, 1802, 
































































































































































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